1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a ballast tank mountable to an excavator. More particularly, the present invention relates to a tank mountable to excavating equipment for holding fluid for both ballast and fire fighting purposes.
2. Description of Related Art
Vehicles adapted for delivery of pressurized fluids are well known and widely used in fire fighting, agriculture and construction site applications. Movable vehicles are practical for applications requiring mobility and delivery of large volumes of fluid under pressure.
The majority of fire fighting vehicles are highly specialized and designed with large storage fluid tanks and high pressure pumps to deliver fluid to a fire from a relatively safe distance. Examples of such vehicles can be found in U.S. Pat. No. 5,301,756 granted on Apr. 12, 1994 to Robert G. Relyea for a "Vehicle Mounted Aerial Lift", and U.S. Pat. No. 5,788,158 granted on Aug. 4, 1998 to Robert G. Relyea for an "Automatic Leveling Fluid Nozzle for Aerial Boom".
Other designs known to the inventor for general fluid spraying equipment mountable to a vehicle include U.S. Pat. No. 5,199,196 granted on Apr. 6, 1993 to Paul M. Straley for an "Earth Grading Soil Compaction Tractor with Water Spray Capability", U.S. Pat. No. 3,016,201 granted on Jan. 9, 1962 to Oren D. Brogden for a "Tunnel Cleaning Machine" and U.S. Pat. No. 3,055,594 granted on Sep. 25, 1962 to Harold K. Nansel for a "Boom-Type Spraying Means".
There exist applications where it is desirable for a fire fighting vehicle to be able to get close to the fire. For example, in some cases, simultaneous delivery of pressurized fluid and penetration and removal of burning debris is desirable. Such work often occurs in forest fires or at building sites where some or all of the structure has collapsed. To work in such conditions requires a vehicle that is able to operate in the extreme heat adjacent a fire and that is stable and able to maneuvering over terrain strewn with debris.
Existing excavating equipment equipped with hydraulically operated buckets at the end of manipulating arms function well to remove debris, however, such equipment is not designed to carry large volumes of fluid for fire fighting nor is it designed to operate in the very hot environment in the vicinity of a fire.